Not too long ago, when I was eating alone in a restaurant in Estonia, the waitress asked me if it was lonely traveling all by myself. Without any hesitation, I answered, “No. It’s the best way to travel.”
Each year, I choose a new place to visit, ostensibly, to take photographs. But also to get a sense of the place, the people, the smell of the air, the taste of the food. If I had someone with me, I’d spend my time talking to them instead of interacting with the new people I meet along the way. Plus, I can’t imagine anyone enjoying a drive with me since there’s a lot of stopping, turning the car around to go back to that scene you want to photograph; not to mention the time spent walking through long-abandoned fields and homes.
I am at my happiest when I’m driving down a wide open road, windows down, smells of fresh cut grass, pine trees drifting through the car and passing through those pockets of cold or warm air that take you by surprise. If I come across something that excites my senses, gives me that creative energy that drives some of us, the day is even more full.
